High School Boys' Basketball: Central cruises to 67-43 win over Rapid City Central

April 03, 2007

By American News Sports Staff RAPID CITY - Aberdeen Central shook off a two-game losing streak and led from beginning to end in a non-conference win. The Aberdeen team put the game away early and cruised to a 67-43 win over Rapid City Central in high school boys' basketball on Friday afternoon. Aberdeen Central started the season with three wins but had dropped two consecutive games. The Golden Eagles quickly shook off any bad memories from the 59-52 overtime loss to Rapid City Stevens on Thursday night. Aberdeen Central jumped out to an 8-0 lead aided by two three-point field goals by Michael Babcock, who would finish with a game-high 27 points. The visiting team from Aberdeen built a 23-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended the margin to 23 points at 31-8 in the middle of the second quarter. Babcock, who made just one of 11 field goal attempts in Thursday's loss, led the scoring barrage with 19 first-half points including five field goals from three-point range. Rapid City Central, which also lost in overtime to Pierre on Thursday (56-53), started the season with two wins but has now suffered five straight losses. The Cobblers started slowly in the Aberdeen game but found their range late in the second half. The home team managed just six points in the opening quarter and did not reach double figures in scoring until Reggie Stanton hit two free throws with one minute left in the first half. The Golden Eagles established their biggest lead of the game at 28 points (46-18) on a three-pointer by Micah Westby at the midway point of the third quarter. The Cobblers, who shot a cold 19 percent from the field in the first half, outscored the Golden Eagles 25-21 to finish the game. Caleb Grenz led Rapid City Central with 13 points, and Zach Wald was the only other Cobbler in double figures with 10 points. Travis Kamm and Westby joined Babcock in double-figures for the Golden Eagles with 11 and 12 points, respectively. Aberdeen Central begins the new year with an Eastern South Dakota Conference game at Brookings on Thursday. ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Micah Westby 5 0-0 12, Mike Babcock 8 5-6 27, Travis Kamm 5 0-2 11, Derek White 0 2-2 2, Lance Mohr 2 0-0 5, Shane Cunningham 2 0-1 4, Jared Hannigan 1 0-0 2, Jordan Foster 2 0-0 4, Jordan Ernst 0 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 7-11 67. RAPID CITY CENTRAL: Allan Schmaltz 3 0-3 6, Caleb Grenz 3 5-6 13, Reggie Stanton 2 4-4 8, Zach Wald 4 0-0 10, Joe Philippe 1 0-1 2, Nick Courchaine 1 1-2 4. Totals 14-49 10-16 43. Aberdeen Central (4-2) 23 37 55 67 Rapid City Central (2-5) 6 16 31 43 3-point field goals - Babcock 6, Westby 2, Kamm, Mohr, Wald 2, Grenz 2, Courchaine. Fouled out - Grenz, Ernst. Total fouls - Aberdeen Central 21; Rapid City Central 15. Rebounds - Aberdeen Central 37 (Hannigan 7); Rapid City Central 26 (Wald 5, Philippe 5). Turnovers - Aberdeen Central 16; Rapid City Central 12. B Game - Aberdeen Central 62-44.